Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe steps outside Sydney house ahead ... trends now
The Reserve Bank governor confidently stepped out of his upmarket house in Sydney and prepared to raise interest rates for a ninth straight month.
Philip Lowe, a married father of three, lives in the wealthy suburb of Randwick in the city's inner south-east, where the median house price is $2.9million. His home with a park-style garden would be worth considerably more, with a likely value of well above $4million - more than five times the typical Australian house.
The 61-year-old economist with a PhD owns a house with a stone and wrought iron fence lined with clivias that is only a short walk to Coogee Beach.
Dr Lowe, who is on a total remuneration package of $1,037,709 and a base salary of $890,252, is protected from the worst cost of living crisis in more than three decades.
He was seen stepping into a Volvo XC60 SUV, with even the most basic model starting at $73,000.
He was photographed carrying a copy of The Australian Financial Review on Tuesday morning in his gentrified neighbourhood.
The Reserve Bank governor had a grim expression on his face as he stepped out of his upmarket house in Sydney and prepared to raise interest rates for a ninth straight month
His wife now works at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, which sets the rules on banking lending as rates keep rising.
Dr Lowe's Reserve Bank board is widely expected to raise the cash rate on Tuesday afternoon for a ninth straight month, with January being the only month they don't meet.
This would take the cash rate to a new 10-year high of 3.35 per cent, up from 3.1 per cent now.
But the Commonwealth Bank, Australia's biggest home lender, is warning borrowers to expect a possible 0.4 percentage point increase that would take the cash rate to 3.5 per cent.
Inflation is at the worst level in 32 years and there are fears this rate rise could be far from the last.
Australians with an average mortgage of $600,000 would have seen their mortgage repayments surge by $12,000 over a year, even with just one more quarter of a percentage point rate rise on Tuesday.
Since May, the RBA has raised
